How many people were killed in the Inquisition?

Answer 1

In comparison to the fear it caused, the Inquisition did not murder that many people. It is estimated that several thousand people were actually executed. Many were tortured and released and many more were imprisoned.

Answer 2

A:The 'Inquisition' was actually a series of tribunals set up, originally to combat what the Catholic Church considered heresy. The most famous of these was the Spanish Inquisition, and the limited evidence that survives suggests that around 5000 executions took place on the orders of the Spanish Inquisition. The Inquisition set up in the Netherlands was responsible for a further 2000 executions. Most other Inquisition tribunals resulted in far fewer executions, since most of their victims were sensible enough to recant their heresies and seek 'forgiveness'.

Answer 3

A:

The Catholic Inquisitions were no doubt low points in Christian morality, but the Spanish Inquisition was (for what it is worth) a little more humane than the nediaeval and Roman Inquisitions. The Spanish Inquistions placed limitations on the number of times a person could be tortured and for what duration - limits we would find abbhorent today, but which were probably considered enlightened at the time. Reliable figures on the number tortured are hard to come by, but more often the threat of torture was enough since most of the victims of the Inquisition were sensible enough to recant their heresies and seek 'forgiveness'. Even fewer were considered so far beyond redemption as to be executed for their non-belief, with the limited evidence that survives suggesting that around 5000 executions took place on the orders of the Spanish Inquisition.

Answer 4

Roman Catholic AnswerNone, the Inquisition had not jurisdiction over anyone but baptized Catholics. Although in the Spanish Inquisition, it was the Crown who was running it, nevertheless, they were running it with the cooperation of the Church. The Church had no authority over anyone but Catholics. Anyone who was not Catholic was tried in a civil court, although many tried to get their cases transferred to the Inquisition as they were not nearly as harsh, and their prisons were considerably better than the civil government's.

Answer 5

Okay, I'm going to explain this, please spread this as far as wide as you can. EVERYTHING that you know about the Spanish Inquisition is false, EVERYTHING that you have been told about the Spanish Inquisition or read about it has been made up. A lot of it was made up hundreds of years ago: Spain and England were at war (think of the sixteenth century, seventeenth century) and consequently the English made up all kinds of horror stories about the Spanish. This was so long ago, and they have been told so many times by so many people that it has made it into history books with quotations, references, etc. But they are all historical facts based on lies. The fact that the lies are 400+ years old makes it difficult to sort out these days. But if you have read these lies in your history books, if you see movies, if you hear references to the Spanish Inquisition, you think "horrible, torture, beyond comprehension". Okay, now, just for laughs, they have uncovered the actual RECORDS of the Spanish Inquisition, it turns out that nothing happened without some poor monk or friar sitting right there and recording every bit of torture, and every reaction, including confessions.

The Church, as such, never really executed anyone, many people tried to get their cases moved to the Inquisition of the church because they knew that they would be given a fair hearing, and their sentence would be far milder. That state, on the other hand, was an entirely different matter: remember that this was a far different world. I am assuming that you are speaking of the Spanish Inquisition, although there were several before it, but that is the one that the English latched onto and spread all the lies about.

What you need to understand about this period in history, far different from modern society, is that the state as such, was religious. During the Spanish Inquisition (which actually was started by the state), the countries that had a Catholic ruler had a Catholic population, and those that had a Protestant ruler had a Protestant population, this was laid down by the Peace of Westphalia, and the Peace of Augsburg which both stipulated that the religion of a country was determined by its ruler. They were given a certain period of time to relocate if they didn't agree with the ruler.

Needless to say, people didn't move much back then. Spain had recently reconquered its nation from the Muslims, and was trying to expel all Muslims from its nation. Thus the Inquisition had NOTHING to do with Jews - they only had authority over Catholics. The problem was that many of the Jews and the Muslims had "converted" to the Catholic Church to escape deportation, and the Inquisition examined anyone who was reported to be a heretic WHILE MAINTAINING THAT THEY WERE CATHOLIC. Thus only Catholics were investigated.

But remember the state was Catholic as well, thus heresy, as such, was punishable as a crime of treason against the state. Bottom line? The only people who died during the time of the Spanish Inquisition were people who were tried by the state and convicted of treason.

You may view the actual discovery, and the records for yourself at the links below. In the meantime, Diane Moczar, a professor in Virginia, who has done a lot of study in these matters, has written several books:

Extracted from Seven Lies About Catholic History Infamous Myths About the Church’s Past and How to Answer Them by Diane Moczar, c 2010 by TAN Books, Charlotte, North Carolina

Of all the Inquisitions (and there were a few from the 12th century until the 19th century), practically synonymous in the popular mind with the term is the Spanish Inquisition, mostly due to anti-Spanish Black Legend Propaganda that has been produced from the Reformation until now. Thanks be to God, finally, truth is started to take hold due to people like Diane Moczar, an history professor at North Virginia Community College, Dr. William A. Donahue, the founder and president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights as well as Henry Kamen, a British Historian and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Please see the links below.

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One of the myths that Diane Moczar speaks about in her book, Seven Lies About Catholic History, is the one spun by English Protestant writers detailed the sadistic tortures supposedly used by Spanish Inquisitors.:

“It turns out that torture was in fact rarely used, and even when it was, it was very limited. In one group of seven thousand accused persons who came before the Inquisition in Valencia, for example, only two percent were tortured, and for no more than fifteen minutes.”

And now for the evidence:

Here are the links to the documentary I spoke of regarding the true nature of the Inquisition-- It would be interesting to contrast to the latest interpretation from the History Channel, still perpetuating the old myths.... Worthwhile for apologetic minded Catholics...

The Myth of the Spanish Inquisition:

Part I : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMkjvCKTK3Q

Part II : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgtLDECsUY0

Part III : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQBrAUcoaxoPart IV : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4KZ1o6j_ss

Part V: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHk9AJ8-aQk

Answer 6

We don't know exactly, but it was at least in the thousands, for which records exist. And that refers only to direct killings, torturing to death and burning to death. Apart from those, tens of thousands were killed indirectly when they were expelled from Spain wholesale, as very many perished during these expulsions. See also:

About the Inquisition

Some numbers